Month: May 2018

The city of Redmond’s Centennial Park spray feature will be starting operations for the summer season this Friday. The spray park operates from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day each year. Visitors can enjoy the spray park from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, with occasional closures for summer storms. “Everyone gets

The Oregon Health Authority issued a health advisory Wednesday for Detroit Lake, located 46 miles southeast of Salem and spanning Linn and Marion counties. Water monitoring has confirmed the presence of blue-green algae and the toxins they produce in Detroit Lake. These toxin concentrations can be harmful to humans and animals. People should avoid swallowing

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined Sens. Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and their colleagues Wednesday in introducing legislation to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Do No Harm Act . Since its 1993 inception, the original intent of the RFRA has been misappropriated and used

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released draft legislation Wednesday to boost job prospects for the long-term unemployed and other Americans struggling to make ends meet. This proposed policy, called the ELEVATE Act, works to close the workforce gap that is preventing many Americans from getting a job. It provides states with federal

There are dozens of boat types on the market and so many opportunities to explore Oregon’s waterways. Regardless of what’s calling you to the water and the type of boat you’re in, be sure to plan ahead, pay attention and share the water so everyone can have a fun time. The Oregon State Marine Board

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A new forecast from Oregon’s state economist predicts strong economic growth and low unemployment will drive roughly $752 million more to state coffers than 2017 estimates predicted, triggering automatic kickbacks to taxpayers and schools. The taxpayer give-back, called the “kicker,” is an automatic provision that causes Oregon taxpayers to get a

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Wednesday the members of a task force that will study hate-motivated crimes. The task force was created between legislative sessions to review existing legal protections for victims of hate crimes and to make proposals to the legislature for strengthening Oregon’s laws. The task force will also look into whether

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say an Oregon couple featured on the television show “Weed Country” has been indicted on marijuana-related charges in Tennessee. The U.S. attorney’s office in Jackson says Michael and Tawni Boutin, of Medford, face charges including manufacturing and possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute. Narcotics agents said they found

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The wife of a man fatally shot by police inside a Portland homeless shelter has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officers who fired. The lawsuit filed Tuesday night in federal court seeks damages, but does not specify an amount. John Elifritz died April 7 from multiple

SEATTLE (AP) – Emergency call recordings about a fatal cougar attack in Washington state Saturday detail how a dispatcher calmly struggled to figure out where it occurred and how worried the surviving victim was about his friend. Isaac Sederbaum was mountain biking with friend S.J. Brooks on logging roads in the Cascade Mountain foothills east

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (AP) – A tractor-trailer made a fowl mess when it rolled over in Washington state. It dumped about 40,000 pounds of chicken feathers across Interstate 5. Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson says the driver told investigators he fell asleep at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday north of Tacoma and lost control of

Streams and rivers could pump carbon dioxide into the air at increasing rates if they continue to warm, potentially compounding the effects of global warming, a new worldwide analysis has shown. To reach that conclusion, an international research team conducted the first continental-scale study of carbon flows into and out of streams across six major

Imagine a convenient and affordable public transportation system that offers efficient connections all over the state…. That’s just part of what stakeholders envision in the draft Oregon Public Transportation Plan, now open for public review and comment. An online open house makes it easy to view sections of the draft plan, and survey responses will

A new program getting underway soon in downtown Bend is aimed at both moving panhandling out of the area and helping the homeless in other, more concrete ways. The program, called Bend Cares, is being initiated by the Downtown Bend Business Association. The goal is to discourage anyone from approaching shoppers for money, but still

Alert neighbors who saw flames and heard smoke alarms sounding helped save a Deschutes River Woods family’s home Tuesday night, officials said. Bend firefighters responded shortly after 9 p.m. to the neighbors’ call to 911 of a fire at a home in the 59800 block of Navajo Road, Battalion Chief Jeff Blake said. Crews arrived

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will hold town halls next week in Lake and Crook counties. This upcoming town halls on Thursday, May 31 in Lake County and Friday, June 1 in Crook County will increase to 899 the number of town halls Wyden has held since pledging when first elected to hold annual town halls

Plans for a six-story mixed-use development where Ray’s Food Place once stood on Bend’s Westside are moving forward. Heavy snow collapsed the building’s roof two winters ago. After the collapse, crews originally demolished parts of the building, to the point where it was structurally safe, and now work has started up again. “It got approval

(Update: Correcting nature of discoveries at caves in lead) There’s an area not far from Bend that contains some of the oldest evidence of mankind in North America. One of the major archeologists behind the discoveries presented his findings in Bend on Tuesday. The caves are near the small town of Paisley, about 130 miles

Good Wednesday Morning, Everyone…Fairly heavy amounts of mid-level moisture moving in over some warm daytime highs will deliver rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms to most of Central Oregon this afternoon and evening. Highs will be in the upper 70’s to low 80’s and NW breezes will be gentle at 5-10 mph. Rain showers

The Sisters Eagle Airport and Eagle Air Estates Homeowners Association disagree over an existing taxiway leading from the estates to the airport, and that led to a public hearing Tuesday night. At the Deschutes County hearing, homeowners association members said they want the taxiway to stay in place. The owner of the airport, Benny Benson,